Belgium pressured to extend voting rights to all Brussels residents

The European Union institutions are used to coming under fire for having a democratic deficit: today it’s Belgium’s turn.

A group of Brussels residents Wednesday launched a #1Bru1Vote campaign to extend voting rights in Brussels Region elections to non-Belgian citizens, accusing the Belgian state of disenfranchising one-third of the city’s residents.

The campaign calls for Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel to submit a draft law to Parliament granting all adult residents the right to vote in the May 2019 regional elections.

Backers of the campaign include Professor Philippe van Parijs who initiated the Picnic the Streets movement that led to the creation of the Brussels center pedestrian area, and the Brussels Master Architect Kristiaan Borret.

Nora Bednarski, one of the organizers of #1Bru1Vote, said simply “the time has come” for Brussels to modernize its governance.

The Brussels capital region, formed 29 years ago is governed by a complex web of political parties, and a system that ensures representation of both French and Flemish speakers, while excluding more than 300,000 non-Belgian residents.

The campaign estimates there are 220,000 European Union citizens and 90.000 non-EU “second-class” citizens in Brussels. Other estimates suggest nearly half of the city’s approximately 1.2 million residents were born outside of Belgium.

“They are Brusseleirs like everyone else—who live, love, work, study, pay taxes and contribute in so many ways to make Brussels-Capital a better home for everyone,” the campaign committee wrote in a statement.

All Brussels residents can vote in local communal elections which take place every six years, though non-EU citizens must have lived in the city for at least five years to qualify. Most eligible non-Belgians fail to register to vote.

The Brussel regional government sits above local communes and below the Belgian federal government. Its responsibilities include mobility and public transport, urban planning and heritage, parks and green spaces, waste and recycling, infrastructure and public works, pollution and air quality. The campaign petition is here.

Strong support among expatriate communities

POLITICO spoke to a range of Belgians and non-Belgians Tuesday to gauge their interest in the campaign: the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“Why should I be able to vote on how my streets are cleaned (municipality) but not on how my rubbish is collected (region-ish)?” asked Eoghan Walsh, a youth advocate.

A woman who identified herself as Solene said she would support non-citizens being included in the Brussels voting system, if those rights were granted as part of a broader reform of the Brussels regional parliament.

She raised the idea that a third community could be given a protected status in the Parliament alongside French and Flemish speakers, via a quota for non-Belgian members.

No taxation without representation! If I pay hefty taxes here I should have a say on how they are spent.

Mikaël Van Eeckhoudt, a Belgian national, said “I’m Brussels born, and find it outdated that so many Brusselians, from here or not, still cannot vote for regional elections while the region decides so many aspects of our life.”

Michiel van Hulten, a consultant and former Dutch Labour leader, said “Good idea, but better to abolish Brussels region and replace it with a Greater Brussels municipality, replacing the existing region and local councils.”

More reactions from members of the Brussels EU bubble below.

As a non-belgian who lives here and cares about this city and improving it, I'm pro.

the parties are so language community-based and the coalitions they end up in so insanely broad across both ideological and linguistic lines that I’ve found it extremely difficult to care about belgian politics

Thomas Huddleston, a naturalized Belgian and migrant rights campaigner said “Brussels is the place in Belgium and in Europe where I feel most free and welcome. But the challenges and inequalities are growing. I fear that both a city like Brussels and our project as a European Union won’t be able to respond and survive if we don’t open up and work together with our neighbours.”

— This article was updated, based on new numbers from the #1Bru1Vote, regarding the numbers of non-Belgians excluded from voting in Brussels regional elections

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HP

Amusingly it’s not the region that is competent for cleaning the streets and the other stuff that supporters flag, but the communes. European residents can already vote in communal elections, but don’t. Anecdotally, two reasons are given: the voting obligation and “it’s so complicated”. How is this any different? Also, frankly, I can’t see why people who don’t pay taxes here should have the vote, which excludes all those who work for the EU institutions, NATO, etc. The system is unfair enough to the majority of Bruxellois (not “Brusseleirs”, please, nobody under 80 is a “Brusseleir” anymore) as it is. Which is why Smet is an ardent fan I guess.

Posted on 2/7/18 | 8:00 AM CET

HP

And what about all those poor souls who live in Overijse, Tervueren, etc. ? Are they going to ask for voting rights in the Flemish Region? Smet and Van Parijs presumably did not think of that one… or did they?

Posted on 2/7/18 | 8:05 AM CET

Jakob

@HP: If voting rights were linked to paying taxes I guess we should make all poor people, people on income support, house wifes etc. ineligible to vote too?

Your democratic rights and obligations come from being a Citizen and subject to the rules of the City you live in. Hence, also EU/Nato employees have a legitimate right to democratic representation, as they are to be no less 2nd class citizens. The fact that it was decided that their salaries, which are paid for by the taxpayers of all countries should not be going to the tax-coffers of one member state was not theirs, so don’t punish them for it. And before you get going, the EU system has its own social security provisions incl. Health insurance, so it is not the Belgian state paying for this any more than all other states. Finally, the tax excemption only applies to their income from the EU and a possible 2nd home in their country of origin, all other taxes including on other income than their EU salary are taxable in Belgium in the normal way.

Posted on 2/7/18 | 9:32 AM CET

HP

As you point out yourself, voting rights are linked to citizenship. All EU and Nato employees can vote in the countries of which they are citizen. And the point about taxes is not that these people do not pay taxes, but that they do not pay their taxes -in Belgium-, so there is no reason to give them any sort of decision power how this money is spent. No representation without taxation.

Posted on 2/8/18 | 7:12 PM CET

Stefi

A Belgian citizen has to vote where his/her fiscal domicile is. Will this rule apply to foreigners as well?